Jorge, please shut up

As we know, Jorge Posada officially signed his contract yesterday, and had a little something to say when he did:

“We need a No.1, and I think that’s one of the reasons we’re going after Santana. It is a need in October, no question about it. When you look at the past World Series champions, they were able to have a No.1 throwing at least two games to win the title.”

First off, the claim about past World Series. Josh Beckett, 2007, one game start. Chris Carpenter, 2006, one start. Mark Buehrle, 2005, one start. Curt Schilling, 2004, one start. You have to go all the way back to 2003 to find an ace going twice in the World Series. Now, Posada could have meant twice during the playoffs, in which case my response would be: “Duh!”

Mostly, though, I want him to shut up because we don’t need this shit right now. We know how the media in New York operates. Jorge says his thing, and all the outlets are clamoring for Santana because a player now wants him. There’s a reason, though, why few former players become GMs, and further reason why a good number of them (::cough:: Kenny Williams ::cough::) aren’t all that good at their jobs.

So spare us, Jorge. The Yankees will do what the Yankees need to do to win in 2008. And if that means hanging onto the Big Three, so be it. You know there would be no complaints from us.

stop drinking that prospect-koolaid…jorgie’s right, we need santana in a bad way

Casper

Whether you think the Yanks should get Santana or not, Jorge still shouldn’t be spouting off like that. Brian Cashman doesn’t suit up and try to catch a game behind the dish, and Jorge shouldn’t put on his little GM hat and affect front-office activity (even if just in the media realm). Also… Say the Yanks don’t get Santana, say LA steps up and offers Kershaw and the rest of their prospects and the Twins jump at it – Jorge’s now gone on the record as saying he doesn’t think the rotation is strong enough to get the job done. He’s the catcher, these guys have to work pretty closely with him.

Not the biggest deal in the world, just no need for it. No benefit at all.

Count Zero

Agreed. It was a stupid thing to say.

Bart

Jorge is right – make the deal –

LiveFromNewYork

We also need certain catchers to not go cold with their bat come October.

HELLO.

Steve S

I dont know if Jorge is right but I dont think its smart to dismiss the guy who caught these kids this past year and has faced Santana as a hitter. While players are not GM’s now, they have the angle on what is known as scouting which many of these MIT GM’s depend on to make a lot of decisions. Perhaps its something to consider before telling him to shut up. We can all get excited about how good these kids are, but I think Jorge has a little bit more expertise than the people who visit and write for River Ave Blues.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Joseph P.

Jorge might understand talent, but he doesn’t necessarily understand value. I’m not saying he doesn’t, but we can’t just go assuming that every player, solely because they play the game, understand all the facets of it. Oftentimes, they don’t. They’re not paid to do that. They’re paid to play baseball. Vast difference between playing and operating a team.

Steve S

Listen Im not saying that Jorge Posada should run the team, but I think we all have become very protective of our young talent because of the track record over the last couple of years with free agents and big time acquisitions. And part of it is rightfully so, but i think Jorge brings a brink of reality to this whole issue. We have a team constructed for the most part of expensive veterans. And this team has consistently won 90 games, so for a guy who is 37 years old, he has selfish reasons for saying we need Santana.

brxbmrs

That’s the problem with signing guys at the end of their career – they care about next season – not the future.

That’s why Torre was also the worst candidate for the LA job – by mid season he’s gonna be bitching that he doesn’t have the horses and the kids are too green.

I’m glad Jorge is back for alot reasons – but I agree, he needs to realize he isn”t the GM.

Still would do a deal for Santana for Hughes\Melky and Horne or Tabata – eventhough I don’t want Santana, I understand what potentially he brings on the plus side regardless of the financial cost.

Hope the Sox get him, I’ll take my chances with the kids, even if they fail, the Yanks will have other opportunities to get an Ace in the next few years.

Can’t run the Yanks by trying to outdo the Sox every year on paper.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Joseph P.

Well said. Except the trading Hughes for Santana thing. You know my position on that.

tony from the bronx

Another yankee blaming everybody but them selves>what else we need to win is a catcher that can catch,hit better then .200 in the playoffs and not swing at 3-0 counts with the bases loaded qnd C C on the ropes.Jorge shut up.

brxbmrs

You are correct about his bat being cold in October – I always thought that was a byproduct of catching him 130+ games a year – hopefully Girardi uses his bench smarter than Dr. Torre did\does.

brxbmrs

Joseph,

I figured if I keep writing drivel long enough, I’d eventually say something reasonable ;-).

I’m kinda with you on Hughes – my slant is I’m not in love with Hughes fastball and when he doesn’t get the corners his pitch count rises real quick. If he can get his 2 other pitches over that’s gonna be huge.

For me his real pitch is that 72-78 mph huge curve – its easily one of the most impressive pitches I’ve seen in my 30+ year fandom.

While I do think Hughes will get a bit more life on his fb and develop (unlike Melky who we know is pretty much done growing as a player ;-) ), I can’t dismiss as to what Santana might give the Yanks – a top lefty, in or near his prime with Wang, Joba, IPK behind him.

My call, I pass on Santana – but there’s a good chance that;s the wrong move.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Joseph P.

That’s a risk I’m willing to take.

brxbmrs

Me too, no matter what the Yanks do, it will be bittersweet – but less so if they keep the kids.

Even if they all disappoint somewhat next year, they will have significant trade value b\c they’ll still be 22-23 and cheap.

IOW, none of them are Aaron Small.

Count Zero

Me too. I’m actually hoping we don’t get him.

E-ROC

The Yanks don’t NEED Santana. Posada should just pipe down.

http://riveraveblues.com Mike A.

The Yanks spent years trading prospects for pitchers (Vazquez, Brown, Irabu) or spending wads of cash on ’em (Pavano, Contreras, Igawa). We finally have some young pitchers that have shown in limited action that they can do the job. So what happens next? There’s talk of trading them for another expensive pitcher. Erg.

http://yankeesetc.blogspot.com/ Travis G.

Amen.

GoYankees

I was kinda annoyed too when I read what he said, cause this will only encourage those crazy moves on Cashman’s (or should I say Hank’s) mind.
And I’d definitely hold on to Hughes. Even if he fails, the disappointment wouldn’t be as big as Santana being medicore in New York.
It’s so exciting and inspiring to root for someone your own age.

Eric

Can u forgive Jorge because he hasnt got out of the first rd lately because of crappy SP

Tom G.

I have to agree with Jorge here, we need that top of the rotation ace in a short series or it’ll be a lot more early October exits. I love Wang, we need the guy to get to October, but he’s not the type of guy you want to depend on to shut down an elite offence. Santana can do that. I’m also not so sure he’s speaking out of turn, make Santana feel welcome.
I’d actually rather see a straight up Cano/Santana deal go down than part with Hughes, IPK or Joba. I say hedge your bets; if any one of the three works out to be a quality top of the rotation starter we would end up with a dominating rotation nucleus for the next five years. Cano’s a fantastic all around player, but his defense could be replaced on the cheap, and a quality first baseman or corner outfielder down the road could provide the offence he produces. It wouldn’t even be necessary to replace that extra pop in the seven spot in the immediate future.

tmcm650

Does anyone else see the irony in statements in a sports blog, a place that primarily offers fans, outside observers, etc the chance to express their opinions, to the effect that Jorge should just shut up, that he has no business offering his opinion when asked, or that until there is no flaw in his game he has no business offering his opinion about other team flaws? Has anyone ever read the comments by Teddy Roosevelt that begin with “It is not the critic who counts…”? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reading many blogs and their differing perspectives and opinion. It just seems to me ironic that a forum based on the expression of opinion should include so many voices stridently proclaiming that there are some who should keep their opinions to themselves.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Joseph P.

My problem, as stated in the post, is that Jorge’s words weigh far heavier than ours. Combine his statement with the New York media, and you have a completely unnecessary frenzy.

tmcm650

As if there wasn’t already a completely unnecessary frenzy? And even if his statements create more fodder for the media (of course they do!), so what? Is it any more unreasonable to expect Cashamn, Levine, H & H, et al to be unaffected by this unnecessary frenzy than it is to tell Posada he should shut up? I still think the irony here is inescapable – create a forum to express your opinion and then use the forum to tell someone else they can’t express theirs.

barry

I don’t think any player in the MLB wouldn’t want Johan on his team. The problem what is the cost of Johan, is it more than the team could bare. I don’t know if I’d give up a potentially great starter and I don’t know if I want to watch Johnny Damon watch balls fly over hsi head all season long. Some fans need to look at more than just the name and take in the bigger pitcher.

steve

damon still has good range. i just don’t want to see someone tag up from second and score because of his arm.

i know everyone makes fun of his arm. but do you guys honestly think u have a better arm then johnny damon ? I honestly think if u gave me a month to get my arm in shape i could give him a run for his money. how about u guys?